Changes

| term_end=1984​

| term_end=1984​

| preceded=[[Don Williamson]]​

| preceded=[[Don Williamson]]​

| succeeded=Gregory Tarver​

| succeeded=[[Greg Tarver]]​

| birth_date=August 19, 1934

| birth_date=August 19, 1934

| birth_place=Tahlequah, [[Oklahoma]]​

| birth_place=Tahlequah, [[Oklahoma]]​

| religion=[[Southern Baptist]]​

| religion=[[Southern Baptist]]​

| occupation=[[Author]]; [[Journalist]]​

| occupation=[[Author]]; [[Journalist]]​

| spouse= (1) Mona Pigg Keith (divorced)<br>(2) Frances Lowayne Sloan Keith (divorced)<br>(3) Vivian Marie Mendez Keith​

| spouse=(1) Mona Pigg Keith (divorced)<br>(2) Frances Lowayne Sloan Keith (divorced)<br>(3) Vivian Marie Mendez Keith​

| children=Tara Keith Rose<br>

| children=Tara Keith Rose<br>

Kimberly Keith Westfall<br>

Kimberly Keith Westfall<br>

| alma_mater=[[Wheaton College]]​

| alma_mater=[[Wheaton College]]​

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary​

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary​

| footnotes=Keith's career in theLouisiana legislature ended after a single term, as his 39th District became majority [[African American]], and voters replaced Keith with a black funeral home owner and Shreveport City Council member, Gregory Williams Tarver, Sr., who still holds this Senate seat.​

| footnotes=Keith's career in the Louisiana legislature ended after a single term, as his 39th District became majority [[African American]], and voters replaced Keith with a black funeral home owner and Shreveport City Council member, [[Greg Tarver|Gregory Williams Tarver, Sr.]], who still holds this Senate seat, having been reelected in 2019.​

 

}}​

}}​

'''Billy P. Keith''', known as '''Bill Keith''' (born August 19, 1934), currently resides in [[Longview, Texas|Longview]], [[Texas]] with his wife, Vivian. A writer of fiction and nonfiction, he served from 1980 to 1984 as a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] member of the Louisiana State Senate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legis.state.la.us/members/s1880-2012.pdf|title=Membership in the Louisiana State Senate, 1880-2012|publisher=legis.state.la.us|accessdate=November 23, 2009}}</ref> As a legislator, he was particularly known for his promotion of a state law which had it been upheld would have required balanced treatment in the instruction of [[creation science]] and [[evolution]] in public schools.

'''Billy P. Keith''', known as '''Bill Keith''' (born August 19, 1934), currently resides in [[Longview, Texas|Longview]], [[Texas]] with his wife, Vivian. A writer of fiction and nonfiction, he served from 1980 to 1984 as a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] member of the Louisiana State Senate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legis.state.la.us/members/s1880-2012.pdf|title=Membership in the Louisiana State Senate, 1880-2012|publisher=legis.state.la.us|accessdate=November 23, 2009}}</ref> As a legislator, he was particularly known for his promotion of a state law which had it been upheld would have required balanced treatment in the instruction of [[creation science]] and [[evolution]] in public schools.

A native of Tahlequah in Cherokee County in northeastern [[Oklahoma]], Keith graduated from [[Wheaton College]], a private American four-year Christian liberal arts college in [[Illinois]], with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism. He received a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in [[Fort Worth]], Texas. While at SWBTS, he worked in the public relations office with [[Bill Moyers]], a [[liberal]] journalist who later was the [[press secretary]] to [[U.S. President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. After the publication of Keith's 2009 book, Moyers sent him a note of goodwill.<ref>"A Personal Note from Bill Moyers," Billkeithbooks.com, October 27, 2009, accessed November 25, 2009; no longer on-line.</ref>​

A native of Tahlequah in Cherokee County in northeastern [[Oklahoma]], Keith graduated from [[Wheaton College]], a private American four-year Christian liberal arts college in [[Illinois]], with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism. He received a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in [[Fort Worth]], Texas. While at SWBTS, he worked in the public relations office with [[Bill Moyers]], a [[liberal]] journalist who later was the [[press secretary]] to [[U.S. President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. After the publication of Keith's 2009 book, Moyers sent him a note of goodwill.<ref>"A Personal Note from Bill Moyers," Billkeithbooks.com, October 27, 2009, accessed November 25, 2009; no longer on-line.</ref>​

==Career==

==Career==

In 1983, Keith was defeated for a second term for the District 39 state Senate seat in Caddo Parish by the [[African American]] Democrat Gregory Williams Tarver, Sr., the owner of J.S. Williams Funeral Home and insurance companies. Tarver received 9,264 votes (51.4 percent) to Keith's 8,769 (48.6 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 19, 1983.</ref> After the 1980 census, the 39th became majority black and has not since elected a white senator. Keith soon left Louisiana and lived thereafter in east Texas. For several years, he published a conservative weekly newspaper in Marshall, Texas.​

In 1983, Keith was defeated for a second term for the District 39 state Senate seat in Caddo Parish by the [[African American]] Democrat Gregory Williams Tarver, Sr., the owner of J.S. Williams Funeral Home and insurance companies. Tarver received 9,264 votes (51.4 percent) to Keith's 8,769 (48.6 percent).<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 19, 1983.</ref> After the 1980 census, the 39th became majority black and has not since elected a white senator. Keith soon left Louisiana and lived thereafter in east Texas. For several years, he published a conservative weekly newspaper in Marshall, Texas.​

==References==

==References==